


In the Darkness

by GirlWolfTattoo



Category: The Boys (Comics), The Boys (TV 2019), We Can Be Heroes (2020)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:14:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29764989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GirlWolfTattoo/pseuds/GirlWolfTattoo
Summary: Being a superhero means more than just saving the day and bring smiles to fans around the world. Sometimes, it means being ready for the worst, and to face a superior enemy knowing the end is near. Crossover between The Boys and We can be Heroes (I know is a weird mix but come and take a look).
Comments: 4
Kudos: 2





	1. Deal

The Vought quarters were, without a doubt, less impressing than Marcus imagined during his travel. The reception, where he was waiting for pass, looked more like an office from a T.V studio rather than the homeplace for the so called “best heroes” everyone could ask for… or afford, for he was in charge to make a millionaire deal for one of them.  
“Since the last time our planet was under attack, we proved our heroes aren’t prepared enough to confront a titanic scale menace” Mrs. Yaguchi, the new headmistress of the Heroics quarters. “We need to train them one more time, harder, meaner if is needed, in order to provide this world a great group of superhumans that’ll be just in time but… that keep their good manners to be trusted for everyone”.  
“What do you mean with good manners?” Marcus pointed. “The Seven has a lot of coverage for them alone, we can basically follow their steps since morning dawn ‘till the bedtime”.  
Mrs. Yaguchi smiled, indulgent. She shook her head slowly, always prepared to give the worst news in the sweetest ways.  
“Haven’t you followed the career of these… Seven, am I right?” she replied. “Don’t worry, I can’t blame you, your priority lays with us, but you must know some of their members had been in pretty nasty plots recently, some of them were banned from their duty due to… situations, and the point is, Vought International doesn’t want to publicy admit it, but their satisfaction numbers have fallen since the last incident with this… well, never mind.”  
Marcus raised an eyebrow.  
“Then why do you want me to make a deal with Vought? They seem like the class of people we’d never accept in our organization”.  
“Yes, that’s the point. Their powers are more sophisticated due to a continue training and service around the globe, and in return, they want our reputation as some sort of damage control. Perhaps the Heroics aren’t that famous or imponent, but they have something the Seven had lost: the heart and trust of community. Everybody loves them, and everybody feels safe and loved when they’re around, they have families and that makes them more relatable for the public than these… lonely clan, got it, Moreno?”  
So that was the point, Marcus sighed as his right leg bounced nervously in the reception, the Heroics were ready to represent a superhuman from Vought (and even accept the collateral damage it may bring) as long as said superhuman transformed the Heroics group in a perfect team against bigger dangers.  
“Mr. Moreno?” the lady at the reception called. “You can come in now.”  
Marcus’s steps brought him to different locations in the quarters, always wondering where the infamous Seven where, noticing the amount of people working for them. seemed strange indeed, for he was used to have just the crew enough for the communication and logistic, never such things as (he read the positions in a lot of doors) community manager, social network specialist and… why does a superhuman would need a personal massagist?   
“Marcus Moreno!” a middle-aged man gave him a hand, he was wearing a pale grey suit and a purple tie. Marcus didn’t intend to be bold, and yet his interlocutor made a grimace when he squeezed his hand back. “What a strength! Please come in, let’s talk… Want some beverage, coffee, lemonade?”  
“No, thank you, headmaster”. The men sat in front of each other in a well illuminated and sober office. In the nearest wall, a plastic poster showed The Seven posing in the typical movie hero form, looking flawless and distant. Marcus almost left a snort of disappointment come from his lips.  
“Ah, yes, the last campaign against street drugs, we have a lot of work to do indeed” the headmaster pointed, a proud smile in his face. “So, Yaguchi called this morning, she says you’re the most important piece of her team, you’re… like a coaching or something for what I understood”.  
“I am retired from the field, now I just help to supervise and get our heroes ready for the missions.”  
“You were a Heroic too? And what is your skill, Marcus?”  
The headmaster looked like a greedy jeweler standing at what could bee either a gold nugget or pyrite.  
“Is, umm…” the man stared at the void, he never was sure how to name his powers, for the way his mother used was less than impressive for people like his interlocutor “sentient transmission, I can embed certain things in my… power and make them useful even from distance.”   
“I see…” the man’s expression was crystal clear, he didn’t get anything. “Well, let’s get down on business… I heard you need one of our superhumans to… improve the Heroics team, am I right?”  
“To prepare them in order to become better in their field, right”.  
“Didn’t you have a trainer or something for them before?”  
“Why yes, but she’s now retired and…” Marcus shrugged, of course he won’t be talking about his mother’s situation with that guy.   
“I heard the Heroics are very loved in their region, although their fame is less than… non-existent.”  
The headmaster chuckled, and Marcus had to force a smile on his lips. As every second passed, he felt less inclined to deal with him.  
“Perhaps our district hasn’t the budget to launch publicity for them, but I assure you they’re great in what they do, and it is, being the ones who people trust.”  
If words were bullets, the headmaster had fallen dead on his desk. He gulped and clapped, pretending to take it as a good joke.  
“Trust is worthy, Marcus, and the lack of it may deliver a public death for some people. Having our heroes falling, failing… that’s something that mangles the humanity in this days when everything is uncertain. Sometimes, that sort of defeat is worse than the one against a powerful enemy.”  
“You can die as a hero against the evil, but you can’t if you turn into the evil.”  
“Precisely, and that’s why I’m going to give you my best card, the heart and soul of my team, and you will polish his surface with such perfection he’ll turn into the best hero in our history, for both Vought and Heroics”.  
“Well, thank you…”  
“And it’ll be for free, besides.”  
“I beg you pardon?” it was true Mrs. Yaguchi never mentioned a money deal, but that phrase made Marcus go unsettled.   
“Consider this a sort of collab, I hand you the mightiest superhuman from my portfolio, and you, I mean, your organization, take over the responsibility to induce him into your… community values, empathy, tact, self-control…  
“Wait, what does that mean?”  
“Don’t worry, Marcus, I’m not giving you The Hulk or something!” the headmaster barked a laugh. “No, is just… he’s been through a lot of pressure and needs to relax, and maybe coexistence with different superhumans may soothe his issues and learn new ways to express his feelings. Everyone needs to vent a little sometimes, aren’t you agree?”  
Perhaps Marcus wasn’t a mind reader, but he could see, behind the mask of good will, the shadow of something tricky, and probably dangerous, hiding in the guise of soothing words.  
“So, ready to seal the deal?” the headmaster extended his hand to Marcus, like a happy salesman in a T.V publicity, but Marcus held himself back, his deep brown eyes staring at the man’s face.  
“How do I know this… superhuman won’t cause problems for my quarters?”   
“You’re right, you’re very right”. The headmaster retracted the hand, moving his index finger in a positive gesture. “What about we bring the company lawyers here, so we can sign a damage control contract? It’ll be enough for you?”  
Lawyers, secrets… everything smelled like gunpowder, but Marcus wasn’t there to make the rules. If he just could make a call to Mrs. Yaguchi and express his discontent… she’d surely listen to him.  
“I am not allowed to sign anything, sir, I’m here as a representant.” Marcus reminded him, hoping that will gain some time.  
“Don’t worry, I will send a copy for Yaguchi as soon as we prepare the contract, and then… you can add and blank what you feel is needed and turn it back for us and…”  
“This is a lot for a simple collab, headmaster”.  
For the first time in that morning, the man abandoned his smile and leaned over the desk, his eyes fixed on Marcus’s face.  
“No, my friend, this isn’t a lot. Trust me.”  
Marcus didn’t let the doubt permeate through his façade, but he knew what he was going to do as soon as he came back to his own quarters. Vought wasn’t trust worthy, they were hiding something, and he’d never put his team in danger just for a few of good advices from a better superhuman (there wasn’t such a thing, he thought, every superhuman had their own skills and should be treated as equals).  
“And who’s this… superhuman you want us to, how did you say, polish?” he asked.  
“The best of the best!” the headmaster smirked. “Our magnificent leader, the most appreciated for the public… our dear Homelander.”


	2. Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Homelanders meets the Heroics

“Will he come?”   
“Of course he will. You must know he enjoys being the dramatic one.”  
Both Yaguchi and Marcus started at the empty sky, using their hands to protect their eyes from the sun.   
“Mrs. Yaguchi, I’m more than sure you got a reason to accept the deal…” the man began.  
“I know, Moreno, and I paid attention to your points. Truth is we still need to do this, and besides…” the woman sighed “I’ve done everything in my power to not let a single untied knot in the contract. Trust me.”  
The minutes felt longer due to how shiny the day was, but finally, a silhouette crossed the lower clouds and a few seconds later, a man landed in front of them, leaning over slowly with all his well prepared magnificence and confidence. With his blond hair, bright smile and blue-based suit, reminded them to Miracle Guy, but there was something in him, the way he stared at the headmistress and her companion, that warned about something unclear in him.  
“Am I late?” he asked at nobody in particular, making it sound more like a joke. Yaguchi gave a fast stare at Marcus and approached the superhuman, extending her hand.  
“Hi, I’m Akane Yaguchi, headmistress of the Heroics quarters”.  
The blond man took Yaguchi’s hand and kissed it in a seductive way.  
“Homelander, miss Yaguchi”.  
“And…” the woman had to pull her hand a little to free it “This is Marcus Moreno, he’s the…let’s name it the coordinator of the team.”  
The superhuman and Marcus stared at each other with a smile, but that performance wasn’t enough to break the tension. Yaguchi cleared her throat and rushed both men into the quarters, Marcus trying to being like a barrier between the woman and Homelander.  
“What are we doing here, miss Yaguchi?” the blond guy asked as they passed into the wagon. His eyes went across the place in a childist (but not innocent, or that’s how Marcus perceived it) manner.  
“Well, his headmaster must’ve tell you about our collab…”  
“Yeah, yeah, but I mean… is this a real heroes quarters? Seems pretty naïve”.  
“Our vision is focused on heroes with families” Yaguchi explained, and Marcus moved on his seat uncomfortably “So, we acclimated it to allow our Heroics to have a nice workplace where their sons can come and train too… once they’re ready, of course”.  
“Do they have children?” Homelander chuckled. “Powerful kids… I can see it, indeed.”  
“Yes, but children are treated according to their age, we would never…”  
“What, put them in direct danger to improve their skills? Such a lovely vision, very humane.” The man brought their attention to Marcus. “And you, coordinator, do you have a child too?”  
Marcus lifted his head. No, he wouldn’t speak about his Missy to that… being.   
“We’re ready” Yaguchi announced, noticing the worry in her colleague. The three entered the quarters, filled with common humans doing the common tasks, all of them smiling and staring at the superhuman in utterly surprise. Of course not all of them were like Marcus who didn’t have time nor interest to follow the career of Vought International, so they knew Homelander and gave him a respectful, curious look. The blond man smiled, used to that sort of attention. “The headquarters are in the third floor, there will be some of our Heroics who… signed for the special training.”  
“What do you mean, there aren’t all your heroes?” Homelander asked. A janitor crossed in front of the group, a wide smile in his face.  
“Forgive me, headmistress… Mister Homelander, is… wow, is such a honor…”  
“I’m always ready to help and please the people of this country, my good sir” the alluded replied. Marcus, following the man as near as he was able too, noticed the fake smile, the nice compliments that sounded from a script, how the superhuman seemed a little uncomfortable with that man around.  
“Sorry, may I… can I ask for a photo, sir?” the janitor asked, his eyes bright like he was staring at a star. Yaguchi approached him.  
“Later, Mr. Lopez, we have… too little time today” she answered with a warm smile, allowing the group to go on.  
“Your workers are… like a family, am I right?” Homelander gave an acid look at the janitor who was walking away. Marcus frowned.  
“Don’t you like proximity, Homelander?” he asked.   
“Is because of my powers, I may… well, of course we are trained people and everything but sometimes uh… powerless people don’t understand how our bodies work, and how different they are from theirs. Sometimes, God may never allow it, we can… hurt a little to normal people, not in purpose of course, but…” the man made a grimace of resignation, like it was a little perk. “We’re covered for that, too.”  
“If you’re covered it means it happen more often that it should.”  
“C’mon, coordinator, don’t you say you haven’t had that kind of incidents with your team?”  
“Our priority is to keep the public safe, so we work according to that. As you said, they’re… powerless, and they aren’t to blame for the battles we must fight”.  
“Collateral damage always exists, coordinator, and you must always be prepared to face it.” Homelander gave another creepy smile to the man, then followed Yaguchi closer as they walked into the elevator.  
“Here we are” the woman announced, “the Heroics headquarters”.  
In the room there were just three people, and all of them stood up as soon as the door opened. Marcus smiled at them, always proud of his team, his friends. There was Miracle Guy, that seemed surprised with the presence of his doppelganger, and also Miss Vox, along with Blinding Fast. They seemed just as Marcus always imagined a team of superheroes look like, brothers and sisters bounded by their fate and their values, needless of ridiculous publicity and wealthy quirks.  
“Well, hello everyone, thanks for attending.” Yaguchi clapped, a little relieved to not finding the room completely empty. “So… Allow me to present you to our new coach and partner, Homelander. Homelander, these are some of our Heroics…”  
“Miss Vox” the blonde woman approached him, a radiant smile that was reflected in the superhuman’s face.  
“Nice to meet you, Miss Vox” Homelander replied, kissing her hand just as he did with Yaguchi. Suddenly, the woman vanished and found in front of an Asian American man, that grabbed his hand vigorously.  
“Blinding Fast, sir, we are happy to have you here”.   
“Woah… yes, thank you.” The superhuman twisted his mouth in a less pleased smile.   
“And this is our Ace, Miracle Guy”. Yaguchi extended one hand to the last man. Homelander raised an eyebrow, staring at the big H on his chest.  
“Is this the… initial of your true name or something?” he asked in a little sarcastic tone.  
“Oh, no, no, since Marcus retired, I am the head of the team in the battlefield, that’s why I use it.”   
“Fascinating, what your powers are, coordinator Marcus?” Homelander turned his head back to look at him. Marcus shrugged.  
“Nothing as impressive as my team, you can be sure of that.”  
“Don’t treat yourself like that, Marcus” Miss Vox replied. “You’re our leader and our friend, and friends never let you down…”  
The last words were said in her baritone voice, making the whole room rumble. Yaguchi laughed.  
“Woah! Keep your best tunes for the training, dear. So, why don’t you take this time to meet each other and… start as soon as you feel to? Marcus, dear, you’re the boss now, I must leave.” The woman pretended to give him a hug to whisper in his ear “We’ll talk later, I promise”.  
As soon as she left, Homelander abandoned his good-looking façade and walked across the room, hands behind his back.  
“So… Heroics, am I right? What’s your special field? Well, I can see this little guy here is fast as the thunder or something…”  
“Is said ‘as the flash’…” Blinding Fast replied.  
“Yeah, sure, whatever… And you, dear Miss, your skill is… to make earthquakes?”  
“Oh, no… not exactly, my voice produces vibrations that allow me to do certain things…” she explained. Homelander chuckled.  
“So, as soon as your pretty mouth is shut, you’re done. That’s… such a petty, indeed.” The man stared in front of Miracle Guy, as Miss Vox gave Marcus a what the heck was that stare. “And you…”  
“I can do a lot of things, like flying even in the open atmosphere… I’m also super strong…”  
“So basically you’re me but with a worse haircut, got it.”  
Miracle Guy laughed, taking it as a soft joke despite the weird look in the faces of his team. At last, Homelander looked at Marcus one more time, his face still hieratic.  
“Can I help you?” Marcus asked. Homelander snorted.  
“You… you have the hero posh person with those… tough eyes and big muscles, and still nobody seems to know what the hell you do for being part of this…” the blond guy waved his hand to the Heroics “picnic club.”  
“Why is that important to you? You won’t train me but them” the dark-haired man talked back.  
“Then why are you here?” the superhuman grinned, showing all his perfect white teeth. Marcus thought in a wolf ready to bite. Marcus kept without reaction, and finally Homelander went towards the rest. “Okay everybody, I see some of you are basic powers heroes… and some of you may need more help” he added, giving a look to Miss Vox. “So, tomorrow morning before sunrise I want you right here to start our training, we will go to…” the man signed to the window “that little mountain over here, am I clear?”  
“But… we cannot be here that early” Miss Vox murmured, “we have children and we must… take care of them, make lunch, bring them to school…”  
The other two nodded. Homelander approached the lady, the dark grin never abandoning his visage.  
“Oh, that’s right, you’re a family friendly group of superdaddies and mommies… Then, my dear, tell me what do you do when in the middle of the night a bloody terrorist comes and bombs your city, huh? Too occupied singing lullabies to do your work?”  
“No, I didn’t say…”  
“Then… Here before dawn, and God help the one who comes late. Am I clear?” Nobody dared to move nor make a gesture. “Good. Bye, then, I need to make myself comfy in that fucking four-star hotel…”  
Marcus was in front of the door, and didn’t move as Homelander went onto it.  
“Move… coordinator.”  
“I’m afraid you must keep your best manners when you’re with my team”. Marcus crossed his arms over the chest. “These people are superhumans, just like you.”  
“So what? I was called to make them improve their… pathetic skills, and that’s what I’m going to do.”  
“Don’t use that kind of language, lad.”  
“Don’t call me lad, I’m not a fucking child you can slap in the buttcheeks...Now, move.”  
The Heroics felt nervous as Marcus didn’t move a single muscle, and both men stared at each other with such intensity everyone could tell they were ready to throw hands. Finally, the leader took a step at left to unlock the doorway, and Homelander murmured:  
“Good choice, daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, got a little hypedand made two chapters today. I don't pretend to make a big fanfic so I'm trying to doze the chapters.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! Just a few clarifications before going on:  
> -Marcus Moreno powers aren't well defined in canon, so my explanation is just based in the few clues we have.  
> -The "Homelander situation" from the comics (those who know it can get what I'm saying) won't be used as a canon here, at least not completely.  
> -"Mixing a family friendly movie with an adult, pretty twisted story? Why?" Because making weird stuff is my fuel, queriditos ;)


End file.
